This afternoon, Time Warner and MSG finally settled their weeks long standoff in New York to put the network back on the cable provider. Regardless of whether or not Jeremy Lin and the Knicks’ seven game winning streak was the deciding factor in the truce, it’s good news for Knicks fans that had Time Warner.

(Now maybe TWC can focus on getting NFL Network here in Columbus and elsewhere, it’s not like the NFL is by far the nation’s most popular sport or anything. It’s only been eight and a half years, take your time Time Warner.)

One of the most respected reporters in the industry, Richard Sandomir of the New York Times broke the news via Twitter.

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Over in another corner of the Twitterverse, King of the Twitter Wars Darren Rovell tweeted out the same news, confirming Sandomir’s report (and tying it directly to Jeremy Lin in the same tweet, although that’s another story for another day)…

And that’s where this unforseen Twitter fight exploded into a ferocious battle the likes of which the social media squared circle hasn’t seen before. In one corner is CNBC’s sports business reporter Darren Rovell, who as you may know by now has a history of these things, going toe to toe with sportswriters, comedy writers, political reporters, and Playboy models. In the other corner is the young upstart of the Twitter Wars, Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. Would Rovell’s experience win the day or could Sandomir come through with a statement victory?

This is one of those fights where both men go to their corners after the final bell to a standing ovation from the crowd solely due to the fury on display. I would call that a slobberknocker, but Sandomir’s creative use of words like “gauche” and “imprimatur” demand something a bit more sophisticated. In an intense battle that went the distance, it goes to the judges scorecards, where the winner by a majority decision is…

Darren Rovell.

Both men landed significant blows and Sandomir’s closing tweet was one of the best haymakers of the fight, but from start to finish Rovell did more consistent damage. Sandomir seemed to weaken in the middle rounds as Rovell continued to hammer away. Rovell’s closing Tweet was also a smart way to get the last word in and add an intriguing psychological final shot, complimenting Sandomir.

I can see where both men are coming from in this battle though. The rules and protocol for giving credit can vary from place to place and across the different mediums of media. For Sandomir, it probably is infuriating to see your report need to be confirmed, especially the way Rovell delivered the news to his near 200,000 Twitter followers. From that perspective, it would seem as if Sandomir’s New York Times report needed some sort of rubber stamp from up above. And, reading between the Twitter lines, there is some history between these two pugilists.

However, if CNBC calls on Rovell to confirm reports, he did the right thing in giving credit to Sandomir in this case. Rovell didn’t take the easy way out of so many (ahem, ESPN) by taking Sandomir’s report and merely changing his name to “Sources.” He gave credit for the report where it was due and was taken aback by why he was getting called out on Twitter for what we seek in all reporters. The experience factor was key for Rovell in this narrow victory, but Sandomir has proven to be a worthy adversary.

Could a simple RT of Sandomir from Rovell have prevented this fracas? Yes, but where would be the fun in that? Have your say on this latest Twitter War by voting in our poll below…